Member-only story
My Mom Is What’s Wrong with the Oil Industry
How liberal elitism and narrow mindedness are hampering the energy transition
My mom is what’s wrong with the oil industry. Specifically, my mom is smart, passionate, empathetic, and the most environmentally conscious person I know. She does everything right (solar panels, electric vehicles, conserving energy, and resources) and has devoted her career and free time to sustainable design and community outreach. But culturally she, my family more broadly, and myself at times, carry a mindset about energy, climate change, and the oil industry that is problematic and hampering the energy transition.
I lived in New Orleans for four years and when people there asked me about my background, I told them I was raised by hippie liberals from the North. I grew up in an upper-middle-class, suburban Massachusetts, and somehow ended up working in the petroleum industry in Louisiana.
When I got my first job offer from a well-known oil giant at age 22, my mom didn’t talk to me for a week. She was appalled. Horrified that her daughter would even consider working for the “evil empire.” I turned down the offer and went to grad school instead.
By the time I started working full time for a different oil giant after finishing my Ph.D. she had come around a bit…
